A/N: Many of you were not pleased with Harry's attitude last chapter. Hopefully this chapter explains it better. Many of you were guessing correctly which means you guys are either super smart or I suck at cliffhangers ;) I think I'll go with both :) Oh and thanks to Andraste Straton for giving me a line in the story :) Enjoy!

Chapter 18: At Arm's Length

Harry moved quickly through the castle to the Gryffindor Tower. He felt tears stinging his eyes and so badly wanted to turn back around and tell Draco that he was just being dumb and afraid of loving him and losing him like practically everyone else in his life. He wanted to love him and be in love with him and be with him completely, but the fear of losing him was just too much to bear. He reached the portrait as it was opening and Hermione came out from behind it. Harry ran into her and staggered back a few steps. He let out a sob and covered his face.

"Harry! What is wrong?" she cried as she reached out to wrap him in a hug.

He shook her off while shaking his head. He pushed past her and into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione went in after him. Ron looked up from his chess game that he was playing with Neville to see his best friend coming through with his girlfriend on his heels looking frantic. He quickly stood and approached the two.

"Harry, mate, what's going on?" he asked carefully.

"Leave me alone!" Harry cried as he rushed up the steps and into their dorm. The door slammed behind him and there was a resounding locking noise coming from the door.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other in complete confusion and worry. "What happened?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't know! I came out of the portrait hole and ran right into him and he just let out this sob and covered his face!" she cried.

Ron thought for a moment and then narrowed his gaze. "Malfoy," was all he said. Hermione looked up at him with wide eyes and reached out to calm him.

"Ron, no. Don't go and get in his face now. We don't know for sure if he's involved," Hermione discouraged.

Ron was turning red and she knew that if she didn't offer to go talk to him that he was going to handle it his way, with his fists. "Oh, no, that git is involved. I know it," he insisted. He tried to push around her, but she planted her feet and kept him from going around her.

"Ron, let's just go find him and we'll talk to him. Let me do the talking because you are far too angry for it to not seem hostile. Okay, let's do that," Hermione suggested.

Ron looked down at her with his narrowed gaze, but relented and followed her out of the common room. They walked quickly down to the Slytherin dungeon and knocked on the portrait down there. A few moments later a third year opened the door and looked up at them with disdain. Hermione lifted an eyebrow and made a simple gesture at her Head Girl badge and the third year softened their look to only mild disdain. Ron rolled his eyes behind her.

"I need to speak with Draco Malfoy please," Hermione requested.

"I don't think he wants to speak with anybody," the kid replied.

Hermione frowned. "Could you at least tell him I'm here and would like to speak to him if he can?" she asked.

The kid stared at her for a moment and then gave a brisk nod before leaving the doorway. Hermione turned to Ron and gave him a level gaze. "I want you to go down to the end of the hallway and take several deep breaths before coming back here," she ordered. Ron started to protest, but with a stern glare that marveled McGonagall's, he relented and walked away to do as she asked.

After a few moments the portrait slid open and Pansy Parkinson walked out. She gave Hermione a cool look before speaking. "What do you want, Granger?" she asked.

Hermione narrowed her gaze at her for a moment, but remembered what she was there for and took a deep breath before responding. "I wanted to speak with Malfoy, but if you are out here that means he does not want to speak with me. I wanted to know-" she was cut off by Ron stomping back down the hallway and pointing a finger at Pansy.

"We want to know what he did to Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

Pansy lifted an eyebrow at him before glaring at him. "What he did? How about what Potter did?" she demanded angrily.

Ron stared at her for a moment before dropping his arm and looking at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he questioned.

"Parkinson, do you know what happened?" Hermione asked calmly.

"Apparently, Draco wanted to wait to have sex and Potter didn't. Potter also devalued Draco's feelings and the relationship that they were building. What's his story?" she replied defensively.

Hermione frowned as she processed what Pansy had said. Ron's face turned a funny color and he turned and walked back up with hallway mumbling something about 'too much information.' Hermione paced a bit before she stopped and looked at Pansy. "Well, he didn't tell us anything. I was leaving our common room and we literally ran into each other and he was crying and then he refused to talk to us. We thought that Draco had said or done something to upset him, but if what you're saying is true then that is not the case," she explained.

"Well, let me see if Draco will come out and talk to you, but before I do that there is something you should know about him," Pansy said. Hermione gave her a questioning look. "Draco's in love with Potter and he has been for a long time. He wants to be with Potter more than probably anything in his life. I just thought you should know that," she continued before she turned and walked back into the common room.

Hermione frowned as she stared at the portrait. "Do you think that's true?" Ron called from the end of the hallway. Hermione turned to respond, but stopped when she heard the door open again. Draco stepped out with Pansy at his side. He was looking down at the ground, but when he looked up, Hermione looked upon him sadly. He looked devastated and he had definitely been crying as well.

"What do you want, Granger?" he asked with no bite in his tone.

"Well, I came down here thinking that you had hurt Harry somehow, but now I can see that it's the other way around. What happened?" she asked kindly.

Draco looked up at her, shocked at the kindness in her voice. He sighed before leaning against the wall and rubbing his face roughly. "Harry and I don't see eye to eye on how we feel about each other. I'm in love with him and he's not in love with me. I know he's lying to me about something though. He was talking about losing people he's loved and that the only people that he hasn't lost are you and Weasley and he said that, that is not even a guarantee," he explained.

Hermione stared at him a moment and turned to look at Ron over her shoulder. They both shared a knowing look before she turned and looked back at him. Draco frowned at her and lifted his eyebrows expectantly. Hermione sighed. "I know what's wrong," she said quietly.

Draco stared at her, waiting. "Well, enlighten me already," he said in exasperation.

She glared slightly at him before continuing. "Ever since Harry lost Sirius, Dumbledore, Fred, and Remus, he has held everyone else at arm's length. He is so afraid of losing the ones that he loves that he won't hold them close anymore. He's pushed away from Ron and I and we are his oldest friends. He is afraid, Malfoy. Completely terrified that you are going to be taken from him like everyone else so he keeps you at a distance, even though I know he wants to be with you and love you more than anything. I don't know how to make him realize that he can't keep doing that because he is only hurting himself," Hermione explained.

Draco stared at the wall deep in thought. His heart was breaking for Harry because listening to Hermione voice the problem made it all the more real and sad. He sighed, knowing what he had to do. He looked up at Hermione, determination in his eyes. "Then I will keep my distance. If I want him to love me, pushing him to do so is not going to work for either of us. I can't explain to either of you how much I love and care about him. I owe him my life more than once. I will keep my distance. Thank you, Granger, Weasley," Draco responded. He gave them both a quick nod before going back into the Slytherin common room.

Pansy stared at the door and then turned back to Hermione. "This is tearing him up inside," she said.

"I know," Hermione replied.

"If Potter doesn't figure this out and fast, he will lose Draco, just like he fears," Pansy said with finality before she turned and went into the common room.

Hermione stood there for a moment before she turned and started walking back to Ron. He put his arm around her and gave her a side hug. "I think we need to have a chat with Harry. Knock some sense into him," Ron said quietly.

Hermione chuckled. "Why, Ron, are you saying that you want Harry and Malfoy together?" she teased.

Ron made a gagging noise, but sighed. "I could see in Malfoy's eyes that he really does love Harry and we both know that Harry feels the same. I guess all I want is for Harry to be happy and unfortunately it's Malfoy that's going to do it," he admitted. Hermione laughed and snuggled into his side.

"Then I guess we need to have a serious conversation with our dear friend," she said with determination. Ron nodded and they quickly made their way back to the Gryffindor tower.